About That Walrus in My Creche Set...

SARAH BOWEN is an animal chaplain and author of Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplain's Advice for Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful, & Healing the Planet. sacredsendoffs.com

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"TORTOISES, FLAMINGOS, SEA LIONS, BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES... AND BABY JESUS? Oh my!" I exclaimed. "Sarah! Get back on the tour bus," my husband implored. I willfully ignored him, eager to document the fascinating nativity scene, which seemed remarkably perfect for an island in the Galapagos.

Although Jesus is the nativity attraction for most people, I'm more intrigued by the animals. During December, our shelves overflow with creche sets from around the world. Shiny black soapstone kings and camels from Kenya sit beside a German display sporting a donkey. A group from Peru features llamas, while the Alaskan one offers a walrus. And while this tusked mammal may seem logical in the snow-filled scenes we Americans love to display at Christmas, I can say with 100 percent certainty that a walrus was not present in the temperate climate at Jesus's birth.

WHO WAS REALLY AT "THE FIRST CHRISTMAS"?

We don't know. The Gospels don't agree on which humans were present and don't precisely mention animals. While the book of Matthew suggests wise men, hence the inclusion of camel figurines, the book of Luke mentions shepherds, and so we get sheep.

A much later extracanonical text, referred to as the Gospel of PseudoMatthew, adds an ox and donkey to the story assuredly to link passages from the Jewish scriptures to Jesus's birth. Pope Benedict was once questioned regarding their presence in a Vatican display. Conceding the animals could not be verified in scripture, he added, "No nativity scene will give up its ox and donkey." (Unless it's for a moose or tortoise, I might posit.)